da stake casino: It should have been a much more comfortable night for the dominant Reds up against the Premier League's bottom team
da bet7: Despite the presence of Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Darwin Nunez, it was defender Virgil van Dijk who stepped up with the best piece of finishing to help Liverpool to a 2-0 win at Sheffield United on Wednesday. The centre-back had all the space he needed to smash into the net after a Trent Alexander-Arnold corner set him up perfectly to break the deadlock late in the first half.
It is the second time in in three days the Reds have had to be saved by a defender, having been rescued by Alexander-Arnold late on in their 4-3 win against Fulham at Anfield.
Just like on Sunday, Liverpool's front three underwhelmed in front of goal. Salah looked like he was in the mood to bag his 200th goal for the club as he hit four shots in total, but yet again his finishing let him down. Meanwhile, Cody Gakpo and Diaz failed to act as a direct threat on goal of any kind, while substitute Nunez had one decent chance after coming on for the last 20 or so minutes.
The game looked set to fade out to a 1-0 win, but Dominik Szoboszlai was there to kill the game off after he was found in the Sheffield United box, applying a simple finish after a nice first touch to control it.
Considering their dominance in possession and their eight shots on target, the Reds should have made easier work of the Premier League's bottom team, but somehow found themselves under pressure one too many times against weaker opposition.
GOAL rates Liverpool's players from Bramall Lane…
GettyGoalkeeper & Defence
Caoimhin Kelleher (6/10):
Much better than his shaky game against Fulham. No tough saves to make, but showed off his good reactions and a bit more of a presence in the box.
Trent Alexander-Arnold (7/10):
Popped up all over the field to win the ball in midfield and act as an option to stretch play out wide. Whipped in an excellent cross and had a few more dangerous moments.
Ibrahima Konate (6/10):
Solid in one-on-one duels but a bit of a danger when he pushes high up.
Virgil van Dijk (7/10):
Got across to cover for the space Konate left behind when the home side got through and grabbed his first goal of the season with a nice volley.
Joe Gomez (5/10):
Fairly sloppy. Needlessly gave Sheffield United a massive chance early on and his passing was not good enough.
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Dominik Szoboszlai (6/10):
Another underwhelming performance with very little to offer until he fired in the late second goal.
Wataru Endo (7/10):
One of his better performances. He battled for the ball and was quick-thinking on it.
Alexis Mac Allister (6/10):
A bit behind the pace throughout but had to deal with some heavy tackles before he went off injured.
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Mohamed Salah (6/10):
Quickly emerged as Liverpool's biggest direct threat in Nunez's absence, came close to scoring early in the second half but simply couldn't find that elusive 200th goal for the club.
Cody Gakpo (4/10):
Tried to be smart in his movement to get involved but didn't do enough with it and not much of a threat.
Luis Diaz (5/10):
Looked capable of causing some real problems at times, but yet again nothing really came off for him.
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Curtis Jones (6/10):
Replaced Mac Allister and tried to help create some danger.
Harvey Elliot (5/10):
Played just over 20 minutes but did not add much other than having a shot blocked.
Darwin Nunez (6/10):
Involved in two of Liverpool's brighter moments of the second half, but couldn't find the net with his shot before he managed to set up Szoboszlai.
Ryan Gravenberch (N/A):
On late and did not get much opportunity to influence the game.
Jurgen Klopp (6/10):
His team were dominant once again, but the front three failing to click yet again is surely a bit of a concern. The substitutions did little to add any more firepower and they barely looked capable of scoring in the second half.